


Happy Just to Be with You

by Mycroffed



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Alec Hardy's relationship with sex, And Ellie - Freeform, Demisexual Alec Hardy, Established Relationship, F/M, No Smut, Post-Season/Series 03, Wholesome comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29196570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mycroffed/pseuds/Mycroffed
Summary: Being in a relationship with Alec Hardy was not something that Ellie Miller had imagined happening.OREllie discovers exactly what it means for Alec to be demisexual.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller, Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller
Comments: 10
Kudos: 46





	Happy Just to Be with You

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. This is probably the closest to writing smut I'm ever going to get.
> 
> Teen and up rating because it gets cLOSE.
> 
> Title from Tree by the River, Iron and Wine

Being in a relationship with Alec Hardy was not something that Ellie Miller had imagined happening. She'd always known that the man was handsome, underneath all those layers of scruff and clothes, she'd seen that the second that intense hatred for him had subsided.

But back then, she'd been happily married to Joe Miller. She'd done her best not to think anything of it, maybe enjoy a quick peek every now and then when she was sure her husband wasn't around. Besides that, however, she didn't dare look at him any more.

And then the pair of detectives — Alec Hardy, really — discovered that Joe Miller had killed her best friend's son, and her world had come crashing down around her. She'd been too busy keeping herself together, keeping her family together, finding a place for the three remaining Millers in Broadchurch to sneak peeks of her handsome boss.

She'd expected that she would be alone after the discovery. After all, Beth had gone, Tom had gone, Joe had gone, and she was doing her best pushing herself away from the town. Hardy, however, was having none of that. From that first day of the trial, he'd dragged her into this old case, this old drama, and the further they got into it all, the more she started to feel like herself again. Or at least a new version on herself, a version she no longer had to avoid in the mirror.

She hadn't realised just how attached she'd gotten to the damned Scot until she'd gotten that text that he'd had his pacemaker surgery. Ellie had felt a real fear of losing him then. She'd sat there beside his bed, listening to the strong and regular beeps of the heart monitor, waiting for him to wake up.

And while she made it clear that that was not okay, she was also overwhelmed with relief. At least he wouldn't drop dead on her anymore. Or at least she hoped not.

Things evolved quickly after that. He was brought home by his ex-wife — hah, did Tess think she could just come swooning in again? Think again — and Ellie was sure that he was in good hands. But that didn't mean she was not going to be there when he woke up again in that little cottage by the docks. She'd stopped by with the excuse of working on the case and watched with a proud little smile as he opened his eyes.

That was her man, she thought. Still alive. (Too bad Tess thought the exact same.)

That was the moment she decided she'd ask him out for a date as soon as the trial was over, as soon as the case was solved. Ellie would be able to put Joe away in a box, after all, once he would be convicted. Quite literally so.

Except that didn't happen.

Except her world collapsed all over again, in very different ways this time. At least she had Beth again. Their friendship was tentative and new in ways it hadn't been for years, but it was there. It existed. Tom was living with her again too. There were still days where he'd grumble and barely be able to look her in the face, but that was okay. She could deal with those. She had her sister, she had the town behind her... She would make it this time, that much she knew for sure.

But her boss?

He was gone. She hadn't been able to ask him out for that date, still too busy trying to convince herself that this new life wasn't crumbling, wasn't collapsing. She hadn't been able to give him another reason to stick around. So a handshake and a few awkward words later, she had resigned from ever seeing him again.

Except three years later, he came back.

He returned and they got to work together again and all those feelings she'd told herself were gone came crashing back, ten times as strong. She remained as professional as she could throughout the Winterman case, throughout the madness, the deceit, the lies of it all. She remained professional, though they leaned far more on each other, they supported each other much more, and that was how they brought another case to a successful close.

And then, finally, she'd asked.

"How 'bout we go to the pub, sir?"

She had seen the look in Hardy's eyes, she'd seen the hesitation, and couldn't help but smile as he nodded.

"Sure."

————

It was three months after that date in the pub, and Ellie was still learning more about Alec Hardy. He'd been adorably nervous a few weeks in when he'd explained to her that he was demisexual, that he didn't feel sexual attraction unless there was a strong emotional bond.

She'd placed her hand on his arm and had promised that that would be fine. They would work around that. They would figure out what that meant for them. 

Since that day, she'd learned that Alec Hardy, grumpiest of Scots, was a very tactile person. He'd run his fingers over his arm absentmindedly, he'd press a kiss to her cheek, he'd walk up behind her and bury his face into her brown curls. Sometimes, he would just hug her, hold her. Their cuddle evenings on the sofa soon got rather legendary in whatever household they were staying in. (Fred would join them, while Daisy thought it cute and Tom would look at them with disgust.)

Even at work, Alec would find excuses to make contact, very minimal, while they worked. A hand on her lower back as they stood next to each other, a shoulder gently pressed against hers. She never got uncomfortable, never did not reward such a touch with a beaming smile.

And he would smile back, gently.

Sometimes, Alec would go for a kiss, a gentle one. Chaste, or a little rougher, but the latter were rare and far inbetween. He seemed to be perfectly content with those, seemed to be perfectly happy, most of the time. And thus, so was Ellie.

Of course, there were moments where she wanted to jump his bones, especially when he was wearing those glasses. Those ridiculous, simple glasses, but those did it for her. Very early on in their relationship, she'd tried it on with him.

They were still working, this time at Alec's place, since Daisy had gone off to stay with her mother for the week. Ever since arriving home, Alec had been wearing those glasses, while he had buried his nose in a file somewhere. For the last ten minutes, Ellie had just stared at him.

When Alec noticed that, he glanced up and sent her a little smile, one that was reserved just for her. (That always made her feel brilliant, feel so special.) "Hi, El," he said softly, his voice somehow even more scruffy than usual.

She felt like her heart was going to burst, so she didn't say anything and instead just leaned forward, gently pulling him in for the softest of kisses.

Hardy swiftly returned that kiss, as the file was forgotten on the table. He leaned as far forwards as he could, his hands reaching out to take hers so that he could pull her into his lap.

More than happy to do so, Ellie obliged. She straddled him, their lips not breaking apart until both their lungs were screaming for air.

"You daft man," she whispered, her voice breaking with emotion.

"'s me," he mumbled, as if he was proud of the fact. (He was.)

"Daftest in the entire country," she admired him for a moment, how he looked up at her with those big brown eyes that held so much emotion—

Before she could think of something else to say, he leaned forward to kiss her again. Their kisses rarely involved tongue, since Alec didn't see the point of that, but during that kiss, his tongue darted out of his mouth, quietly requesting access to hers. Of course, she opened her mouth immediately.

Hr hands, which had been rubbing his back until that point, moved to a lower position, one of them slipping into his trousers, where she gave it a bit of a squeeze. (How he'd tensed up at that should have been her first sign something was up.)

But he didn't say a word in protest, and instead deepened the kiss. His hands were cupping a cheek and playing with the stray hairs that refused to join the others in the ponytail she was currently sporting.

"Shall we move upstairs?" She whispered, a question that was only met with a grunt of approval.

She stepped out of his lap, then gently pulled him onto his feet. With an excited grin around her lips, she started on the trek upstairs. Their first hurdle was a snogging session against the wall next to the stairs. They lost a good five minutes there, before she'd whispered 'up' to him.

The next time their move from the sofa to the bed stalled was on the stairs. Alec would position her in such a way that he could look into her eyes, without having to look up or down. Just as equally tall people. (One of whom just happened to stand a few steps higher up than him.) He'd done that before, and she knew how much he liked the idea of her being just as tall as he was.

But this hurdle was also conquered.

They reached that bed eventually. She pulled him down on it, and for a while they just kissed, they just cuddled, and they just enjoyed each other's company.

That was something that they could've done on the sofa too, though, and Ellie was having none of it. So one of her hands got to work: her nimble fingers started to undo the buttons of his shirt, pulling the collar a little open. The moment his chest hair could be seen, her mouth wandered from his, and she trailed kisses all the way down his chest.

Once she'd reached his belly button, she started to suck on that little bit of free skin, that hairless spot on his stomach, fully planning on leaving a mark there, were it not for the hiss Alec uttered.

She looked up, her eyes wide, to check in again. "This good for you?"

Alec nodded, and so she returned to what she'd been doing. His shirt, completely unbuttoned, was discarded. During that brief moment that the two of them were apart, she pulled her blouse over her head and threw it on the ground right next to his own shirt. Her expert fingers then got to work on his trousers, unbuttoning those with the speed of someone who knew what she was doing.

She tugged those down — Alec's wiggles helped a bit with that — and then she was faced with a very odd sight. Hardy wasn't in the least bit hard. Her eyes darted towards him, hoping to make eye contact and get an explanation from him, but of course the bastard was avoiding her gaze.

"Alec," she said softly, trying to make him look at her.

When she didn't get a reaction, she reached up and cupped his cheek. Gently, she turned his head so he had no choice but to look at her.

"Alec," she whispered again, and suddenly she saw those same nerves that she'd seen about two months ago.

_( "And even when I do have an emotional connection with someone, I don't always feel like having sex," he warned her. "Sometimes I just feel it, sometimes I don't."_

_"But you promise you'll tell me, right? Alec?"_

_He hadn't promised. )_

"Oh, darling, my sweet love," Ellie seemed to realise what was happening.

"'m sorry," he muttered.

"You don't need to apologise," her thumb gently ran across his cheekbone, in the hopes of helping him relax, of encouraging him to look at her again. "You told me this might happen."

"I wanted t'try," he said softly. "Ye got so into it and—"

"Alec Hardy, listen to me. You don't have to have sex with me just because I want to." Her voice got the tone that Alec called her 'mom-tone', the one she used when her kids needed to be told something important. "My permission is important, but so is yours. You need to want to as well, Alec."

Still avoiding her gaze, the man in her arms nodded almost imperceivably. (And suddenly, she couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd danced this dance when he hadn't been in the mood, and her heart shattered a little bit.)

"Did Tess ever—"

Before she could finish that sentence, he finally turned to her, a fire in his eyes. "I never wanted to not make mah partner happy when I had sex. I have not once in mah life regretted having sex."

She nodded, reassuringly. "The only reason to have sex, love, is because you want to. Making your partner happy is just a lucky side effect."

"Ye're makin' Tess sound like more of a villain than she is," he huffed. "She knew 'bout this as I discovered it myself. She knew—" He trailed off, and there was a moment of silence.

"Yes?" She asked quietly, as Alec didn't finish that sentence.

He opened his mouth, then shut it again, and in any other situation, she would have compared him to a fish. "D'ye... D'ye think that's why she went to Dave? 'cause I couldn't satisfy her?"

"No." She frowned, she didn't want him to think that way. He'd done nothing wrong, after all. "No, I'm sure it wasn't. And if it was, she lost one of the most attentive, one of the kindest souls in the world."

Alec swallowed nervously.

"Alec, you are kind, you are sweet, you are quite frankly amazing with my kids, and every time you look at me, I know that you adore me and the ground I walk on."

"'Cause I do," he added sheepishly.

"I know. And I think you're brilliant, and smart, and so very handsome, but I don't just want you because of your body. And I'm sure that it was the same with Tess."

She was going to phone that woman after this and have a good yell. How dare she?

She was pulled out of those thoughts as Alec cupped her cheek, and pressed a soft kiss to the other one. (And not to her lips, she realised. She suddenly wondered how many times they'd snogged when he hadn't really been interested. How many times they'd snogged and he'd gone along because he wanted to make her happy...)

"I'll try— I'm gonna try an' get better at tellin' ye, Ellie," he said softly, but the look in his eyes was so solemn that he didn't need to say it any louder. She knew he meant it.

"Thank you." She let out a sigh of relief. "I'll try and check in more."

He nodded as well. That nervousness from before had completely dissipated again, and he seemed a lot more like himself again.

"I do need— I do need a shower now, though," Ellie said after a few seconds of silence. "Got myself all hot and bothered."

She'd been in the middle of getting out of bed when he'd said the most unexpected thing: "I could help get you off."

The surprise must've been written all over his face.

"Don't look like that, Ellie," he scoffed softly. "I still want to make ye happy, an' Tess always said I had magic fingers. An'— I want to do this. I promise."

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded and got comfortable on the bed again. "Okay."

————

Five minutes later, Ellie Miller lay on the bed in a post coital haze of delight, while Alec curled up against her. He had a smug look on his face as he pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"Told ye I had magic fingers."

If she'd had the energy, she would have thrown a pillow at his head.


End file.
